Due to the high costs and side effects of breast reduction surgery, various attempts have been made to design athletic supporters for large-breasted women that facilitate their participation in sports. Although the prior art supporters offer some measure of increased support over regular bras, they are still insufficient for large breasted woman participating in active sports. These existing athletic support bras are primarily designed with individual cups supported by two shoulder straps which are affixed to a back panel. When the bra, and especially the straps, are designed to be stretchable there exists too much give in the material, creating a bouncing effect. Too little give in the material and an uncomfortable compressing effect occurs. There has yet to be developed a conventional athletic bra which is sufficiently resilient to provide comfort yet firm enough to provide adequate support for large breasted women. Even when the component parts of these bras are created larger or wider to provide better support, the shoulder straps still remain the basis of the supporting structure. This results in an uncomfortable strain on a relatively narrow area of the shoulder. Also, many of the prior art supporters require fastening at the sides or in back, creating difficulties in achieving a tight enough closure because of the awkward positioning.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,466 discloses an athletic supporter for women comprising a front panel and a back panel with shoulder straps connecting the panels. The two panels fasten on either side by pinching together strips of hook and loop fasteners. The user must therefore reach to either side, while holding one arm up in the air, and pinch the two strips together using both hands. The awkward positioning of the fastening regions on the side makes it difficult to close off the panels and achieve a snug fit. Also, the multi-panel I design complicates manufacturing.